Clothesline adjusting device



March 31, 1953 c. A. BLAKE 2,632,932

CLOTHESLINE ADJUSTING DEVICE Filed March 6, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l A JNVENToR. CHARLES A BLAKE BY 'Mcli 31, 1953 Flled March 6, 1950 `rectio n, means whereby Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,632,932 i cLo'rnEsLlnE ADJUSTING DEvIoE y Charles A. Blake, Bellmore, N. Y. Application March e, 195o, Sernin. 141871 c One object ofthe present invention is to provide a clothesline clamp whereby adjustments to the `tautness of a line may be carried out with a minimum of effort.

' ,f Another object of the present invention ls-`to provide in a clothesline clamp adapted for acquirjing a desired tautness ina line, means whereby the gripping action of said clamp is rendered in- `effective until that time when said action 1s de- Another object of the present invention is to provider with a clothesline adjusting clamp 'adapted to grip a loose end of a line when sald f end is pulled in one direction and to loosen its pulled in an opposite `dithe gripping element of when said grip 'onsaid line when saidclamp is automatically disabled y e'nd' is pulled in said opposite direction and other means whereby the disabled gripping element may be manually released to be effective togripthe line when pulled in said one direction.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a clothesline clamp of simplified and economical'tubular construction and including a minimum ofmovable elementsl. none of which are detachable'and apt to'be lost or mislaid.

JJ'For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference willbehad to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various"hovel features of the I `invention are vIridre particularly set forth.

In` the accompanying drawings formingama- 'arterial `part of 'this disclosure i Figfl is a plan view ofthe first embodiment of "the iatenlion, wherein is' niustrated the disposiof thegrippingdelement when saidelement is effective.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view o the embodiment of Fig. l and shows the inclined side slots Awith which the gripping element is adapted to coact. Y

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. l and illustrates the manner in which the gripping element effectively coacts with the loose end of a line to thereby grip same.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view oi the gripping element showing the knurled central surface thereof and the retaining washers carried loosely a the ends of said knurled surface. a Y l 2V Claims. (Chalk-136) Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the gripping action of the gripping element when the line is pulled in one direction.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View illustrating the loosening effect of the line on the gripping element when said line is pulled in an opposite direction.

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. I

Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken along the lines 84-8 of Fig. 7 and illustrates the automatic disabling means provided in the second embodiment. l Fig. 9 is an enlarged isometric view illustrating the disabling lever of the second embodiment.

Fig.`10`is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the camming eiiect of the gripping l element on the disabling lever.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the disabling lever effectively main- Ythe rst form of the present invention shown in Figs. 1 tc 6, includes a tubular primary member I0, which is of aluminum or similar corrosion resisting material, and is provided at one end with an internal shoulder I I and at the other end with l a flare I2. At the top side of said primary member Ill is provided a cut-out I3, which is herein guration.

shown as being arcuate but may be of anycon- Cut into the sides of said primary member are opposed slots I4 which incline downwardly toward the above mentioned ilare I2. Disposed in said 'slots I4 is agripping element I 5' (Fig. 4) which is provided with a knurled central surface IS, twisted and flattened end portions I'l,

`and washers I8 -loosely carried thereon between said knurled central surface I6 and said end por- Vtions IL It will be seen'that the twisted portions yIl maintainthe washers I8 on said gripping element I5 and said washers are effective for retaining saidgrippingf element disposed in said opposed Now it will be seen that one end I9 of a line may be passed into the tubular primary member lli at the end of which the internal shoulder I I is provided and when said line end is knotted as at 2l! said internal shoulder will serve as an anchor therefor (Fig. 3). Instead of the internal shoulder il, that end of the primary member ID could be formed with diametrically opposite holes through which the end I9 of the line could be passed to then be tied to itself for connecting that end of the line to the primary member Ill. As seen in Fig. 5, also. the loose end or the other end 2I of the line may be introduced into the ared end of the primary member1 IU, passed under the gripping element i5 and out of the cut-out I3.

When the said loose end 2l of the line is pulled in the direction of arrow 22 in Figs, 3 and 5 the said line will coact with the knurled surface I6 of the gripping element i5 to thereby cause said element to ride downwardly in the opposed Slots i4 and progressively increase the gripping action thereof. on the line. When it is desired to adjust the tautness of the line, said loose end 2i is pulled in the direction of arrow 23 in Fig, 6, and as therein seen this action causes said gripping element to ride upwardly in theslots` i4 to -thereby release its grip on the said line.Y With the grip thusly released the device may be freely moved along the loose end 2-IA until. the desired.

tautness of the whole line is obtainedl In adjusting a line for tautness it isfsometimes..

necessary for the adjusting device, such as that just described, to be moved back and forward over the loose end of the line until a. desired degree of tautness is arrived at. Insuchcases it would be desirable for. the gripping element to be rendered ineffective until that time'when the desired tautness is obtained. To this end a second embodiment of the present invention provides disabling means for said gripping element.

The modication of the invention shown in.

Figs- 7 to 1l is similar to the rst form. described in connection with Figs. 1 to. 6 in that it too includes a tubular. primary member i!! having an internal shoulder I5 at one end anda flare i2 at the other, acut-out I3., opposed'vslots I 4, and. a gripping element l5 movablev along the length of the opposed slots. However, in. the present arrangement the primary member. i0 is provided at its tcpwithan elongated longitudinal means of the Vshoulderil to a` knot 2i) at onel end of a line, and to have the looseV end 2.1. ofthe line received through the flared end. of. theprimarymember It and passed under the-gripping element i5 and out through the cut-out i3..

, When the loose end 2i: ispulledinthe direc-` w tion or the arrow 24 in Fig. 8,. the gripping element l5 will ride down inthe slots.` Illand effectively grip the line. PullingV the line. inthe other direction or in the direction of arrow 35 in Figs. 10 and ll, causes said gripping element` toride. upwardly in said slots. Now normally thehere- Vinabove described disabling lever 28- rests as. at

36,;,in Fig. 11, on the end of the longitudinal 4 slot 26. However, when the gripping element I5 rides upwardly in the slots I4 it engages the cam surface 3| on said lever and rocks same clockwise (Fig. 10). The continued motion of the gripping element causes it to engage the abutment 33 to rock the lever counterclockwise and drop the hook 32 thereof in front of said gripping element (Fig. 11). Thusly, the said gripping element is automatically and effectively disabled simply by pulling the. loose end 2I of the line inthe direction of the arrow 35. When a desired tautness is thereafter obtained in the line, the ringer portion 30 on the disabling lever 2% ismanipulated to rotate said lever clockwise and thereby release said gripping element in order that it may be effective for gripping the line. and thus maintaining the adjustment made thereto.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to b e'understoodA that I.. de not limit myselfto the precise. constructions herein disclosed and the rightis reservedto all changes and inodications vcoming. within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I Aclaim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. In a clothesline clamp including, a tubular frame pi-ovided with. anoutlet cutout andan stop is an. abutment extendingfrom the .bottom of the lever, a finger element on said lever and saidcam surface is elongated to engage the end of said elongated slot to stop its pivotal movement.`

CHARLES A. BLAKE.

REFERENCESV CITED The-following references are ofrecord in the file of. thispatent: y

UNITED STATES PATENTS' Number Name Date 331,088 Sacket't Nov. 24, 1885 1,263,995 Bahr' a Apr. 23, 1918 1,409,430 Tarket Mar. 14, 1922 1,450,094 Lustgarten Mar. 27, 1923 1,832,388 Heisser Nov. 17, 1931 2,349,114 Russell May 16, 1944 2,374,875 McMurphy May 1, 1945 

